Lovely gifts from a lovely friend....

My dear friend Lisa recently returned from a trip to Europe and she brought me back some gifts.

The first is a beautiful bead for my Pandora bracelet.  This bead is handcrafted in Mdina, Malta at Mdina Glass.

I love it, the colours are just perfect for me!

She also brought me back this sweet hand stitched towel - all of this is stitched over one! Now, for the life of me I cannot remember where she said this was from but I will get back to you on that when she texts me back with the info.  (Update:  from a town near Porto in Portugal)

Oh, and I have been stitching this week:

Springtime Messenger by With they needle and thread....

... and a Prairies Schooler Christmas Strawberry....

using some of the new Sajou thread I bought on a recent trip to L'ucello (but more about L'ucello next post).  Aren't the colours vibrant?

Anyway, off to read some blogs, then it is the train to listen to a novel while I stitch on my way to work - what a great way to start the day... yummy porridge and a latte, some blogging then a good read/listen and some stitching.  Pity that the train trip is only 1/2 hour and then it is 7 and a half hours of working! lol! (Gotta pay for the stash somehow!).  Then I have added a half hour walk to the end of my day up to Parliament station (at the end of the city loop) so I read/listen some more, then a 20 min train trip and I am home in time for dinner..... and more stitching, of course!  You know, life is pretty good, really! Thanks to my God, my family, my friends, my work, my stitching and, of course, you, my wonderful, stitchy, bloggy friends  (and of course, the kitty cats, Furio and Milo).

bye for now, hugs,

A cosy recuperation.....

.... I had some dental surgery on Tuesday (the implant was placed for my eventual new tooth) - the dental surgeon was excellent, very gentle but, oh boy, I did not feel so good after the anaesthetic wore off! It is my front tooth, so the area around it is all bruised and my face puffed up and I kept feeling as if my whole face would just fall off!

However, my dear, stitchy friend, Anna (no blog), came around to sit and stitch for a while yesterday whilst I was recuperating.

She brought me some restorative chicken soup, which I ate with nice soft crumpets - delicious!

... and I stitched on this little cutie - I am really enjoying it although I need a very good light to stitch on this fabbie.

 Pattern: Sprintgime Messenger

Designer: With they needle and thread

Fabric: 28ct Gingham Straw/Grey linen by WDW

Threads: Speciality threads as recommended (WDW and GAST)

Then in the afternoon, my comfy stitching chair beckoned.

A sweet kitty cat

A good book to read

The Foxtel remote so that I could watch Masterchef Australia

My stitching

What bliss!

So, as well as stitching on Springtime Messenger, I stitched on this fruit wreath for the upcoming Tutti Frutti swap.

This is a freebie I picked up from somewhere but I am really pleased with how it is turning out.  I have swapped out a number of the threads for variegated ones for ease of stitching (less thread changes) and to create more depth and interest in the piece.  Nearly finished the cross stitch but there is a heap of backstitch to do yet.

Anyway, it is back to work for me this morning.  Catch you all later,

hugs,